Sarum - Edward Rutherfurd [457]
“Captain Wilson has plans for new voyages that could bring enormous profits,” he explained to Edward. “He wants to find people in Sarum to supply the money, and so I thought you should come to hear him.” Then he motioned Wilson to commence.
It was an extraordinary story.
“First,” Wilson explained, “consider Russia.”
Shockley had known something of this trade. For twenty years English merchants had been trying, by crossing Russia, to get to the ancient and lucrative Persian trade routes. They had met with small success. But with Russia itself, trade was booming, encouraged by a new Czar, Ivan, who would later be called ‘the terrible’.
“Russia has oil, tallow, tar, hides – hundreds of thousands of them, timber for masts,” Wilson enumerated. “With Spain threatening us more each day, all the shipbuilding materials from Russia will have a ready market here. Similarly, consider Poland and the territories about her. They too have shipping materials – and they want your broadcloth, Master Shockley. Only last year the Eastland Company was formed for this trade. It will weaken those damned Hanse merchants and strengthen us.”
Forest nodded in agreement.
“Then there’s Cathay. Frobisher is trying to reach it by going north west. Even the queen has invested. And now there’s to be another attempt to get there by travelling the other way, over the top of Russia. Mercator and Hackluyt are advising them. Whichever gets there, we could take part in the new trade in the future.
“There’s a new company being formed to trade with the Levant too. Luxury trade.”
He looked from one man to the other. Then, a huge grin spread over his face.
“Of course, there’s another kind of trade too.” He paused. “And here I have news for you. Drake’s back.”
Everyone knew that Francis Drake, the adventurer from Plymouth, had set off three years before to circumnavigate the globe. Those traditionalists who still refused to believe the earth was round claimed he would fall off the edge. Others who accepted the idea of the globe, still did not expect to see him again. Even the queen, who had invested money with the gallant half explorer half pirate had done so with misgivings.
“Well, he arrived yesterday,” Wilson announced coolly. “He’s raided Spanish lands and Spanish galleons on the way and,” he paused again for effect, “his cargo includes one and a half million pound sterling’s worth of gold bullion!”
Both men were silent. It was a stupefying sum.
Wilson now moved swiftly to his demands.
“I have three fine sons. I want joint stock companies for three fine ships. I want investors from Sarum, Master Shockley; and we can all make a fortune.”
In a way, Shockley agreed with the suggestion. It was also true that since the great days in the last century of men like Halle and William Swayne, the merchants of Salisbury had not been as adventurous as they should. These new opportunities were dazzling.
One thing puzzled him.
“Are you suggesting piracy as well as trade when you speak of Drake?” he asked.
“Yes,” Wilson told him frankly. “And the queen herself would be glad to hear of it, so long as we raid the Spanish.”
This was true. Long ago the pope had granted all the New World trade to faithful Catholic Spain. “Though what right he has to do it I do not know,” Wilson maintained. The English merchants and their queen certainly wanted a share of it. Then there was the deeper political question. The Spanish king had long ago given up hope of bringing England back to the Catholic fold by persuading her wily virgin queen. He had made peace with England over the Netherlands and the renewed trade with Antwerp had been good for English merchants, but he had not forgiven the obstinate Protestant islanders. Sooner or later, he would invade, and anything English adventurers could do to weaken Spain’s shipping or deprive her of bullion was to he encouraged.
“I shall do what I can,” Shockley agreed.
But still he suspected that this was not all he was there for.
It was just before he left that Forest confirmed this suspicion, when he